This week’s Friday Film Pick is the beautifully shot and tenderly rendered Scrappers, a documentary that quietly follows two Chicago residents as they eke out a living from the salvaging of metallic refuse. It’s not fist-in-the-air advocacy filmmaking for the downtrodden, but in its own way Scrappers gets under the skin, forcing a closer look at the stark indexes of inequality present in contemporary America. With a subtle grace and empathic approach this gorgeous film challenges the notion of the “American Dream” — the mainstream media and Hollywood fairytale that…read more

This article was originally published on Art Threat. The 19th edition of North America’s largest documentary showcase and one of the world’s largest film festivals begins this week, running from April 26 to May 6 in Toronto. With Charlotte Cook replacing Sean Farnel as head programmer, new directions (fewer films, more focus is the official line), new initiatives (Hot Docs’s very own Kickstarter, Doc Ignite), new sponsors (Nescafé, Dundee Wealth and Sun Life Financial, to name a few of the more spurious corporate inductees) and a gorgeously renovated, and reinvigorated, venue…read more

A short 2009 documentary by Aage Rais-Nordentoft about the Iraqi asylum seekers who sought refuge in Brorson’s church, Copenhagen, to avoid being deported to Iraq – but were ultimately forcefully removed despite protestations from supporters. View the Vimeo page here.

At the end of Steve James’s new masterpiece documentary three words are employed to thank the film’s characters—those who gave incredible, intimate access to their lives and work—for their “courage, candour and inspiration.” These are indeed fitting words for some of the bravest, most committed and selfless heroes ever to be shown on the screen. The film is The Interrupters and the heroes are the interrupters themselves – the courageous individuals in Chicago who interrupt cycles of violence in mostly black and latino youth circles. This documentary is nothing short…read more

It’s a busy month already: a book about to be launched in a few weeks (see last post), finishing up my Second PhD comprehensive exam (hopefully, fingers and discursive tentacles crossed), and the new POV Magazine is out with an article I wrote on documentary as a tool for education. The cover is pictured at the left so you can spot it on the newsstands – it comes out this week across Canada. If you can’t find it in the meat world, you can go to the virtual source and…read more